Lancaster County P25 System
- Thread starter don333
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The system is P25 Phase-I. At the minumum, the FDMA scanners below will work, they can be acquired 2nd hand. The TDMA scanners below will also do the job but they are a bit more expensive since they're more up-to-date
***Also worth noting, law enforcement is completely encrypted meaning no scanner can monitor them. Fire & EMS are "in the clear"
***Also worth noting, law enforcement is completely encrypted meaning no scanner can monitor them. Fire & EMS are "in the clear"
Unication G4 or G5.. The absolute BEST.. www.dtwradio.com
Unication G4 only does 700-800mhz, so the OP is correct that the G4 will not track it. System in question is 450-470+mhz UHF. I believe the only Unication option would be the UHFD version of the G5, specs here
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G5 UHF-D 450-520mhz which is dual band will work, but you don't need the dual band. The G2 in 450-520 is all you really need, It's single band and about 100 dollars cheaper. The Unications pick up Lanco system extremely well, no complaints here. I've had my G5 for about 2 years now. As far as the scanner part, I think they work just fine.
The Lancaster County system is also simulcast, so chances are pretty good that *none* of the listed scanners will do well listening to the system with the exception of the SDS100 and SDS200. None of the other scanners were designed to handle simulcast. You might win the simulcast lottery and be close enough to one tower that it 'drowns out' all the others and an older scanner will work OK for you. But as with all lotteries, the odds are definitely against you.
The Unication pagers *were* designed to work on simulcast systems, so that's a great option. But if you want a scanner, then the SDS models are your best bet.
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That's true. However, many scanner hobbyists have found that a Unication pager is a suitable alternative for monitoring a single trunk system that is simulcast. Before a scanner manufacturer provided a solution for the simulcast problem, hobbyists could buy a simulcast-compatible Unication that was more affordable than buying a commercial two-way digital radio. And hobbyists who can live with their limitations are still buying and using them.
Yes, I know all of that. I have two Unications. That doesn't change the fact that the OP was asking about a "scanner". Just trying to keep this on topic.
goodmore
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Do yourself a favor. Invest in a scanner that can handle simulcast distortion or you will be highly disappointed. I live on northern Lancaster county and my old 436 was terrible. Same with the 536. I spent tons of money on antennas and never solved the problem. I ended up with a G5, then only to have the police go encrypted. Fire/EMS is ok, but boring for the hobbyist in my opinion. A scanner offers versatility in being able to listen to other sources. If I had to do it over again I would go top of the line Uniden.
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